Shadows in the Darkness
by twobluebearies
Summary: Star mapping is never fun, especially when some strange things are happening on the ship. Will the crew be able to lift the secret before it is too late? Find out yourself... NOW COMPLETE and with added fanart; link at the end of the last chapter (Check it out)
1. Six Days Before

Captain Kirk sprinted towards the rescue capsule. He could see his First in command standing inside and waiting for him, looking rather strange in his orange biohazard suit. Just a few more meters…

Suddenly, a piece of debris was under his boot, sending him to the floor with a thump. "Starfleet is never going to believe me.", he murmured to himself before he blacked out.

_Six days earlier_

Of all the possible ways a starship could be used, star-charting was by far the most boring, Jim thought while doodling on his PADD, his fourth coffee of the day in hand. He sighed. Uhura looked at him in understanding.

Apart from the two of them, there was only one other person on the bridge. Ensign Barrows, a young man fresh from the academy, was sitting behind the helm. The ship was flying on quarter impulse and slightly to the right side, so the sensors would be able to measure more stars than they would have otherwise. Mister Chekov had meticulously programmed this course a few days prior, and Ensign Barrows just had to be there in the case of an emergency.

Kirk was reasonably sure that Barrows was playing some old-timey arcade game on the helms display. Normally, this would be a court-martial offense, but Kirk decided to ignore it instead. He looked down on his PADD, where he had doodled a representation of himself on some beach, under a beach umbrella, with a Romulan Sunrise in hand. He started to add a palm tree.

"Nice birch.", Uhura suddenly said. The Captain was a bit startled to find her standing on his right side, right in the spot where Spock usually stood. "Lieutenant, back to your station.", he ordered, more playful than severe. "Also, this is a palm tree, not a birch.", he added. Uhura snickered. The Captain crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. "I am a Captain, not an artist.", he said, trying to imitate his CMO. Now Ensign Barrows was laughing too. Jim questioned whether he really understood the reference.

Following a sudden impulse, he stood. "Uhura, you have the conn.", he ordered. "I am going to see how Spock is faring." He left without another word.

Spock was in the astronomy lab, commanding some of the science team around and studying a freshly made map of some unexplored corner of space. Kirk knew that there where roughly another thirty people on the other side of the ship currently engaged with calibrating and aligning the sensory array.

At first, Spock was too mesmerized with the 3D-projected map to realize that his Captain was standing right next to him. "How are the maps coming along?", he asked when his First finally did acknowledge him. "We are progressing according to schedule.", Spock informed him. "That's at least something.", Kirk murmured absentmindedly under his breath. "Captain?", Commander Spock asked, one eyebrow raised. Kirk turned to him. "Hmm?", he asked. "What is _something_?", Spock wanted to know. Kirk waved his hand dismissively. "Just forget about it."

Kirk didn't want to go back to the bridge, so he stayed and watched his Science Team work for a while. After some time, he realized that some of the younger crew members where watching him nervously. Remembering his own time as an ensign, he decided to leave his people to their work. Emptying his now since long gone-cold coffee in a swig, he stepped back at Spock's side. "Meet me at the Sports Deck later?", he asked hopefully. Spock shook his head. "I cannot.", he told him, gesturing to the map. "I am, however, amendable to dinner.", he added like an afterthought. "Nineteen-hundred?", the Captain asked. Spock nodded. Satisfied, Kirk left the astronomy lab.

He decided to see what Bones was up to. Not much he guessed. With crew physicals almost finished and engineering only on fifty percent capacity, there was likely nobody in need of McCoy's care.

On his way to sickbay, he encountered Sulu, arms slung around a giant potted plant. Sulu greeted him, but his plant hissed. Startled, Kirk moved a step backwards. "I'm sorry Captain, Wendy is very sensitive.", he gave as a way of explanation. "Wendy?", Kirk asked, bemused. He was well aware that Sulu had named all his plants. "Yes. I named this beautiful Lady after a classmate of mine. The human Wendy would always sense if somebody was in a bad mood from a mile away."

Now, Kirk was intrigued. "Is this one of the telepathic plants from Regulus IV?", he wanted to know. "Yes.", Sulu nodded. "She makes this hissing sound you have heard whenever she senses negative emotions of any kind." "Fascinating.", Kirk commented and could stop himself just in time before he raised an eyebrow. "Where to are you carrying … Wendy?", he asked Sulu next, happy to have finally found somebody to talk to. "To the Rec Deck. You see, she thrives in an atmosphere of positive emotions, so I decided to bring her to the place made for people to enjoy themselves." Sulu adjusted his grip on the pot. "Also, she is getting quite heavy.", he remarked while smiling rather apologetic. He went on his merry way again, leaving Kirk behind.

Sickbay was almost as silent as the bridge had been. Only some instruments beeped. As Kirk walked in the direction of Bones' office, he was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown on a biobed. "Gotcha.", he heard somebody grunt in a Georgian accent. "Boonees.", Jim whined. "You know how they say: Gotta catch 'em all. Especially when you are doing crew physicals." Jim rolled his eyes. "Nobody says that.", he protested. "Well, I do.", Bones returned and jabbed him with some needle to take a blood sample. Jim closed his eyes. 'Just get over with it.', he thought to himself. He had never managed to overcome his irrational fear of doctors that he had acquired during his childhood.

"How's mapping going?", McCoy asked his patient, whose eyes where still closed. "Fine. These new sensors are really worth it.", Kirk answered. "The hobgoblin must be buried in work to the tip of his ears and still loving every second of it." Kirk had to laugh at that. "Oh, yes, yes he is.", he agreed with his friend.

When McCoy was almost finished fussing about him, the intercom system went off. "Engineering to Captain Kirk.", they heard Scotty say. Before Bones could do anything, Jim had hopped off the table and rushed to the wall module. He pushed the button. "Yes, Mister Scott?", he asked. "Captain, you better come down here. It is hard to explain over the intercom." "I'll be there in a moment. Kirk out." He turned to the doctor. "Sorry Bones, gotta run." He shrugged and left sickbay before Bones could stop him.

He found Scotty in some cozy corner on the Engineering Deck. Robot parts and tools equally where strewn on the floor. In the middle of it all was a transport box. It was one of that type they used to extra-securely store things of high worth in. The lid had been lifted and now lay on the floor next to it.

"What is going on?", he asked his engineer who was just putting on an exo-skeleton. "Aye. This is why I called ya.", He pointed to the opened box. "I have been using that box as a working table to repair our bots on, but when I came back from my coffee break, it was like this." "Somebody opened the box?", Kirk wondered. "Aye.", Scotty answered. "Is something missing?", the Captain wanted to know. "I don't think so. That blasted thing was standing here since before our five-year mission. I always presumed it was empty."

Kirk stepped forward to look at the titanium-lined box's insides. "But that isn't what has me wondering. Try to the lift the lid, will you?" Kirk did so, but he couldn't get the lid to budge one bit. "That darn thing is almost one-hundred and fifty kilograms." Scotty moved over to where he was standing, now fully strapped into his exo-skeleton. With its help, he managed to place the lid back on the box. "The exo-skeletons are over there in this room.", Scotty lectured his Captain and indicated the direction. "I am the only one who has the code to the lock." "Curious.", was the only thing Kirk could think of.

He was sitting at a table with Spock in the officer's mess. They were eating dinner and he had just finished explaining to Spock what had occurred in Engineering today. "Fascinating.", Spock commented and raised an eyebrow. Just then, the doors to the mess hall happened to open. Lieutenant Riley rushed inside, breathing heavily. He leaned against the bulkhead. Kirk was at his side in a heartbeat, Spock close behind him. "Riley, are you alright?", he asked the Lieutenant. Riley nodded. "For a moment, I thought I had seen… well, Sir, I thought I had seen a ghost." "A ghost?", Spock asked. "It is really stupid. I guess it was just the lights.", Riley tried to explain himself. Kirk smiled patted his Lieutenant's shoulder. "It's alright, Riley. Everybody gets space happy at some point."

When he was trying to sleep later however, Kirk was overcome with a great sense of unease. Something was going on, but he didn't know what it was just yet. It took him a long time to find some measure of calm.


	2. Five Days Before

Someone grabbed him and pulled him upwards. He was carried a few steps and then set down again. He heard the hissing sound of a space-secure door closing. He managed to open his eyes. He saw Spock, in his orange suit, typing away on a small terminal. With a jolt, the capsule broke away. They had made it!

_Five days earlier_

Riley's alleged ghost-sighting had left its mark on his ability to sleep that night. When he had entered the bathroom (two quarters shared one bathroom to save space) Spock had already been standing there, brushing his teeth. His First had looked him up and down before asking: "Captain, have you rested sufficiently?" Kirk had rolled his eyes. "YeAh, SuRe ThInG.", he had replied in the most ironic tone since the invention of irony. Spock had nodded and returned to cleaning his teeth.

Now he was on his way to the bridge when he encountered Scotty, waiting for a turbo lift. "Mister Scott, have you found a solution to the little incident that occurred yesterday?", the Captain asked his engineer. The other shook his head. "No, Captain. I checked the lock on the exo-skeletons, but it hadn't been pandered with. I also checked the security tapes, but there's nothing on them to explain what happened."

Kirk frowned. "But it must show how the lid could lift itself?", he wondered. "Well, Sir. There are no cameras in the bot booth itself, you see." Kirk thought for a moment. "Have you questioned your personnel?", he asked next. "Of course. But nobody had seen anything, and I trust those people." Kirk sighed. "Keep up the good work, Scotty.", he told him and let him enter the waiting turbo lift.

The bridge was virtually empty. Some other ensign than Barrows was sitting in front of the helm, and the Caitian Lieutenant M'Ress was leaning against the communication console. "Is everything as expected?", he asked the Lieutenant. "Yes, Sir.", she purred. Only now Kirk realized that she had some odd contraption in her lap. "What is this?", he asked, immediately intrigued. M'Ress smiled and plucked on some flat piece of metal. The whole thing began to swing and make an unearthly sound. "It is a musical instrument.", Kirk stated. M'Ress purred in agreement.

The intercom system behind M'Ress beeped. She hit one of the buttons. "Sickbay to Captain.", McCoy's voice said. Kirk sat in his command chair and activated the speaker. "Yes Bones?", he asked. "I want to speak to you in person, if you don't mind.", his Doctor answered. What could Bones want of him? "I'll be there in five.", he said into the speaker.

McCoy was walking in circles when Kirk arrived. "What's the matter?", the Captain asked his friend, slightly uneasy. "Do you think you can speak to Command? I think the crew is in desperate need of shore leave." "Why do you think that?", Kirk wanted to know. "It is only nine hundred and I already had twelve people in here thinking that they'd be going crazy." This was indeed rather unusual, to say the least. "Crazy? In what way?", the Captain asked. "Things like the constant feeling of being watched and people thinking they saw something in the corner of their eyes. Two people also told me that they had things disappear and appear again while they looking for them.", McCoy explained. "That sounds to me like typical space sickness.", Kirk stated. "Yeah, I guess it is. It's just the amount of people suffering from it that has me thinking."

While conversing, they had taken their seats in the CMO's office. "We already have some shore leave scheduled for next month. I doubt Admiral Nogura would grant us any more.", Kirk explained. They both sat there, thinking. "However, maybe I can organize some kind of event for later today.", Kirk came up with. McCoy snorted. "What were you thinking of?" "I realized that quite some people on this ship play some kind of instrument. Maybe a concert?" McCoy lifted one eyebrow and let it down again. "Yeah, why not? Better than nothing I guess."

So, Kirk found himself on the Rec Deck. Normally at this time of day, almost nobody would be here. But due to the nature of their current mission, many people were out of a job and the Rec Deck was filled with chatter and the sound of game machines. Harb Tanzer, the man in charge of this part of the ship, was kneeling approximately in the middle of everything and manually cleaning some stain out of the carpet.

Kirk stopped next to him. "Mister Tanzer?", he announced himself. The other turned off the hand-vacuum and stood. "Yes, Captain?", he asked, slightly surprised about the Captains presence. "Some people have gotten a bit space sick; I wonder if you have noticed.", the Captain stated. Harb nodded. "Yes. Some poor Ensign came in here yesterday, looking all scared. I managed to calm her down eventually. Mister Sulu's creepy plant didn't help that cause at all."

"Maybe we could organize some get together to raise morale." Tanzer's eyes brightened. "What were you thinking of, Sir?", he asked. "Well, I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it, but maybe some kind of concert?" Harb nodded excitedly. "People could be volunteering. Should I make the announcement our will you?", he asked. Kirk smiled. "I believe this would be within your area?"

With the planning of the evening event in good hands, Kirk went to his quarters. He called up Scotty and asked him for the tracking number on the security box that had been opened. With this information, he searched through the ship's database, looking for any information why somebody may want to open it. He did find some protocols on the thing. It had been on a dozen ships within the last decade, but it had never contained anything really worth stealing. At last, the box had ended up on the Enterprise, according to its protocol with nothing inside. 'Curious.', Jim thought. 'Maybe it was just a stupid prank and I'm overthinking more than I should be.'

Part of the afternoon was spent in the conference room, where all senior officers came together for their weekly meeting. This week, it was mostly Spock talking about how the star mapping was proceeding in a satisfactory manner. After that, Chekov spoke about how he had checked the ship's course a few times but hadn't found anything out of order, and Sulu explained some of his experiments he had performed in Hydroponics.

"How is Wendy doing?", Kirk couldn't stop himself from asking, to the confusion of almost everyone else. "Mister Tanzer wants me to take her back, apparently she scares the crew. I have however persuaded him to let her where she is for at least a week. People just need to get used to her, that is all." Kirk nodded. "Bones, what have you been up to?", he asked his CMO. "Well, I divided my time between chasing my Captain for his physical, cleaning and dying of boredom.", McCoy counted off with his fingers. "Doctor, you are obviously not dead.", Spock remarked. McCoy shot him a fiery glance. "What do you know anyway, hob…" "Shut up, both of you.", Kirk silenced them.

He turned to Uhura. "And you, Lieutenant?" Uhura shrugged. "Not much. I have been reading some linguistic journals." Scotty came next. "Apart from this freaky box, nothing of note has happened." "Vhat box?", Chekov wanted to know. Lieutenant Scott spent a few minutes explaining what had occurred the other day, followed by Kirk repeating what he had read earlier. "It was probably just some prank. Bones is certainly not the only one on the ship who is bored.", he concluded.

Kirk ended the meeting at this point. Sulu and Chekov were almost at the door before Kirk remembered what he had wanted to say. "I almost forgot. There will be a concert on the Rec Deck this evening. Everyone who wants to may perform.", He looked in Uhura's direction, knowing that her singing had quite a few fans among the crew.

Tanzer had outdone himself again. He had managed to put up a small stage (probably with some of the crew's help), had decorated the Rec Deck with some colorful banners and was currently operating a bar in one corner. The game machines where stacked on another and the floor was covered in cushions. About half the ship's crew were already there, some holding their instruments or a sheet with lyrics. He could also see Sulu next to his plant, apparently trying to soothe the bush.

Within the crowd, he could make out Bones waving for him. Next to him was Spock, clutching his Vulcan harp. He made his way to them, occasionally greeting people while doing so. When he finally sat down next to McCoy, there was a drink pushed into his right hand. Kirk looked at it critically. "Don't worry. It's the kind without alcohol.", McCoy informed him. Kirk tried some. It could have been worse. He turned to Spock, who was sitting behind his CMO, tuning the harp. "Are you going to play, Mister Spock?", Kirk wanted to know. The Vulcan nodded. "Miss Uhura has asked me to accompany her singing."

Just then, Harb Tanzer walked on stage and announced the beginning of their concert. First came some ensign Jim barely knew, carrying a keyboard on stage. She played something classical that was quite pleasant. She was followed by a group of engineering ensigns with an assortment of wind instruments. Up next was M'Ress and her strange looking instrument. After that, several other followed, either playing in groups or solo. Finally, it was Uhura's and Spock's turn. The crowd cheered.

They had just stepped on the stage when suddenly there was the sound of several lights exploding, followed by darkness. Absolute darkness. It was probably only due to the rigorous training the crew had gone through that kept a mass panic from developing. Somebody found the door and opened it, which led to light shining into the hall. The audience slowly left the room. Within the twilight, Kirk managed to find his engineer. "What was that?", he asked him. "I don't know.", the Scotsman replied. "This type of light doesn't explode just like that." Kirk exchanged a glance with McCoy who was right behind him. "Most curious.", Spock, who had just joined them, commented.

Sulu came sprinting to their small group. "Just before the light went out, Wendy was hissing louder than I thought possible. I guessed you should know.", he told them, breathless. "Before, you say?", Kirk asked. "Mister Spock, what do we make from that?" The Vulcan thought for a second. "This was no technical failure. Someone or something must have caused it, otherwise the plant would not have anticipated it."


	3. Four Days Before

Spock opened the helmet of his biohazard suit and helped Kirk with his own. Fresh air flooded his nostrils and he could already feel his headache go away. "So, five hours until we can go back?", Kirk asked after a while. "Affirmative.", the Vulcan agreed. They sat there in silence after that.

_Four days earlier_

The day after the concert was rather uneventful. Kirk forwent the pretense of going to the bridge entirely. Instead, he made his way down to the security team's part of the ship. Lieutenant Giotto greeted him. He had a half-eaten bowl of porridge standing on the table before him. "How may I help you, Captain?", Giotto asked. Kirk sat down on another chair that was placed around the round table. "I want you to find somebody."

"And who might that be?", Giotto wondered. "Whoever is responsible for the lights overloading.", the Captain answered. "Giotto laughed, almost chocking on his porridge. "I'm pretty sure it was just a technical failure. Should I hunt down Mister Scott for you?", his Chief of Security teased. "We have a witness to the fact that it could not have been a simple overload."

Now Giotto stopped laughing. "Oh. I'm sorry. Who is this witness, Sir?" "Mister Sulu's telepathic plant from Regulus IV.", the Captain stated. Giotto forced himself not to laugh. "You must be joking!", he exclaimed, incredulous. "I am not. You have your orders.", Kirk said sharply. After that, he strode out of the room.

Still considering whether or not he should discipline Giotto for insubordination, Kirk arrived at the Rec Deck. After entering, he found that the place was still wrapped in darkness. To his surprise, he saw Harb Tanzer, holding a flashlight. Somebody was kneeling on the floor in front of him and doing something behind an access panel. "Hello, Captain." Harb greeted him. "Mister Scott is just trying to figure out what exactly has burned through." He pointed to the man on the ground. Scotty looked up to them. "There's nothing wrong with the bloody thing.", the engineer swore. "If there had been an energy surge, these circuits would have been fried." Kirk frowned.

"Mister Tanzer, please try plugging one of the game machines in, will you?", Scotty asked the man with the flashlight. With the Captain's help, one of the machines was taken of the stack, placed next to a socket and plugged in. The screen and the lights of the machine came on. "I don't understand.", Scotty said, eyes a bit wider than usual. "This is physically impossible!" Scotty looked quite angry. "Apparently it isn't.", Kirk retorted. The engineer turned to Mister Tanzer. "I will go down to our maintenance stock and get you some new lightning elements." "Thank you, Mister Scott.", Tanzer said weakly.

After Scott had left, Kirk moved over to the board games. "Do you mind if I borrow one?", he asked the Rec Deck Operator. "Of course not.", he heard the man answer through the darkness. While Kirk looked through the games, something occurred to him. "By the way, where's Wendy?", he asked. Tanzer answered from behind the bar where he was cleaning glasses. "Mister Sulu took her back. The darkness is apparently bad for her, you see."

After Kirk had chosen a game he liked, he took a turbolift to the science department. Not much had changed since his last visit. Again, there were several of Spock's people walking around while looking busy. Spock was entering some data into one of the consoles. "Report.", Kirk ordered. "The project is mostly coming along according to schedule.", Spock reported without looking up. "Mostly?", Kirk wondered. "Yes. Earlier today, we had a power loss in the sensory array. The problem was, however, solved within minutes." "Let Scotty have a look on it, okay?", Kirk more than suggested. "I have already informed Mister Scott of this situation, and he has agreed to do so as soon as his resources allow."

Now, Spock's attention moved to the cardboard box under Kirk's arm. "A game?", he asked, obligatory eyebrow lifted. "I'm going to try to keep Bones from dying of boredom.", Kirk explained. Spock seemed amused. "Would you be partial to a game of chess tonight, Captain?", his First asked. "Surely.", Kirk nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Spock turned back to his data.

This time, he was greeted by Nurse Chapel upon entering sickbay. "Is there something I can do for you?", she asked, checking his appearance for signs of illness or injury. "I'm just here to visit Bones.", he explained, shaking the cardboard box with both hands. "He is cleaning out our stock and doing some counting. He's probably finished in a few minutes.", Chapel said to him. "I'll wait in his office.", Kirk decided.

The Captain spent the next few minutes taking the game out of its box and placing the colorful board on Bones' desk. He mixed the action cards and put the stack next to the board. He was just determining which of the small game piece he should choose for himself and Bones, when the doors behind him hissed and McCoy came running inside. He ignored Jim completely, circled his desk and hid under it. He could hear him mutter obscenities. Jim found himself laughing nervously. "Bones, you alright?", he asked. When there was no answer, Jim slid down his chair and under the table. He saw McCoy, curled up on himself. Upon seeing Jim, his friend stumbled closer and threw his arms around him. They stayed like that for a few seconds, Kirk worrying about the fact that his CMO had suddenly become unusually handsy.

Bones eventually sighed and let go. They both got up from underneath the table. Kirk looked at McCoy, his face one big question mark. Leonard leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry, Jim. I don't know what came upon me. Kirk just kept staring at his friend. "I was just walking you see, when suddenly, I hear one of my professors from medical school talking, right around the next corner. I go and check; and as you can guess, nobody was there. So, I turn to leave, when out of nowhere, I heard him whispering into my ears. 'You are never going to make it, McCoy.', he said. Right then, I took off, and you have been there for the rest."

Now both of them where laughing. "Guess who is space happy.", McCoy intoned making his arms move like the director of a circus would. "Don't worry, I had it before, it's going away eventually.", Kirk told his friend, still chuckling. "Yeah. And in the meantime, I'm prescribing myself a shot of Bourbon." Kirk protested. "It' still morning." McCoy got the bottle. "Want some too, Jimmy?", he asked with a smile. "Yes, I do. And don't call me _Jimmy_, I'm not five." "No problem, Jimmy-Boy.", Bones returned, an even wider grin on his face. Kirk rolled his eyes.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. He spent almost two hours playing with Bones. After lunch, he went to his quarters to write some reports. All the strange incidents that had happened lately needed to be documented. After this was out of the way, the old boredom came back to him. He grabbed one of his antique bound books from the shelf behind him and began to read. Just like this, the day was over. He went to the mess hall and took his dinner back to his quarters.

Soon after he had finished, somebody knocked on his bathroom door. "Come in.", he shouted. The door slid open and Spock was standing in the frame. Just now Kirk remembered. "Ah, yes. Chess. I'm ready if you are.", he said as he got up. "I am.", Spock stated. He followed his First through their bathroom and into Spock's quarters. The three-dimensional chessboard was already set up on Spock's desk. Kirk was almost instantly hit by a wave of heated air. "It's hot in here.", he remarked. "I can turn the temperature down, if you wish.", Spock offered. "I can handle. I just wonder why." "I was rather cold. The heating in the astronomy lab is malfunctioning.", Spock explained. "Is everything on this ship broken?", Kirk growled, earning a raised eyebrow.

"I always wondered who has taught you to play chess.", Kirk stated and moved one of his rooks. "My father did.", Spock answered absentmindedly while studying the board. Kirk snickered. "I could have guessed." "He was rather annoyed that I would not accept the names of the pieces as they are. I believe he left the room to avoid further debate." Now, Kirk straight up laughed. "Annoyed? Sarek?", he asked, unbelieving. Spock looked at him, only now realizing what he had said. "I was of course speaking figuratively.", he corrected himself. But the damage was already done. Still laughing, Kirk moved his queen. "Checkmate.", he proudly told his Vulcan. "This was another term I had trouble understanding.", the Vulcan remarked. And then, he yawned.

Kirk looked at him, flabbergasted. "I did not know you could do that, Mister Spock.", Jim confessed. Spock looked a bit shaken too. And now, as Kirk mustered him, also quite tired. "When was the last time you have slept?", he asked his First. Spock thought for a moment. "Three days, five hours, Captain.", he finally answered. Kirk shook his head. "You go to bed, now. That's an order. I don't need any sleep deprived First Officers." "Yes, Sir.", Spock returned.

Red Alert was howling and the whole ship was shaking. Kirk was in his Captain's seat, a Klingon bird of prey on the view screen. They were hit again by the bird's torpedoes. "Fire, Mister Chekov.", he ordered, while trying to stay in his seat. "Weapon system is offline.", Chekov informed him, turning to him and smiling. "Shields are offline.", he heard Spock shout over the noise. Another torpedo hit them, and the Enterprise turned into a giant ball of flames.

Kirk was shaken rather roughly. He blinked and opened his eyes. Although it was rather dark in his room, he could still make out Spock standing over him. "Spock.", he croaked. "I have heard you scream, Captain. I decided to make sure you were not in some form of distress." "Thanks.", Kirk said, still shaken by the loss of his ship. Suddenly he realized something. "I have woken you, haven't I?", he asked somewhat guiltily. "I was merely meditating.", Spock returned. Only now Kirk saw that Spock was wearing his meditation robe. "I'm fine now. You may go back to your meditation." Spock nodded and disappeared through the bathroom door.

Kirk let his head fall back against the pillow. Something was happening on the ship, and he desperately wanted to know what. He curled up on himself, hoping that he would not have another nightmare. Some time later, he dozed off.


	4. Three Days Before

They were floating through space. The Vulcan had rolled himself into an emergency blanket. Escape pods were rather cold by design. Kirk found that he was a bit chilly too. Nevertheless, he tried to lean himself against the pod's wall, as good as he could manage while in a zero-G environment. He closed his eyes and let himself relax.

_Three days earlier_

Kirk was woken by the screech of the intercom system. He grunted but got up. He pressed the button on the wall. "Yes?", he asked weakly. "McCoy speaking. Jim, you better get down here.", the speaker produced. "Who has been hurt?", Kirk wanted to know. "Nobody. It's just… Well, you gotta see for yourself." Kirk stood there, still in his Starfleet regulation pajamas, somewhat confounded. The speaker sounded again. Kirk pressed the button. "I almost forgot: Bring Spock with you when you come down here, alright?", McCoy added. "I will. Kirk out."

Kirk made himself ready for the day before knocking on the bathroom door leading to Spock's quarters. He entered after he heard Spock say 'Come'. His commander was sitting behind his desk, brewing over some star map. "McCoy wants the two of us to come down to Sickbay." "Reason?", Spock asked with a frown. "He wouldn't tell. But it sounded quite important."

Upon entering through the main Sickbay doors, Kirk stopped short. He was quite glad that he did not have had the chance to eat breakfast. The floor was covered with something looking like green paint. Seconds later, Kirk was overcome with a metallic and foul smell he did not recognize. He began to feel faintly sick to his stomach. Spock had lost some of his color as well, Kirk noted.

McCoy came through some door. He had with him a bucket and a mop. "Ah, here you are.", he remarked. "What's that?", Kirk asked, while trying to cover his nose with his uniform. Bones looked to the Commander. "I believe Spock knows.", he stated. Kirk looked at his First. "It is my blood.", Spock stated gravely. Now Kirk was really nauseous. "I'll step outside for a moment.", he said and left Sickbay.

A few moments later, his friends were with him out in the corridor. Bones chuckled a little. "It's just from blood conserves, don't worry.", he informed him. "Blood conserves?", Kirk asked, still trying to get himself under control. "Yes. After what has happened to my father on our mission to Babel, the Doctor found it wise that I was to donate blood for myself, so it could be given to me in case of an emergency." "Yeah.", Bones agreed. "That was quite a lot of blood, there.", Kirk remarked. "Almost a liter, yes. It seems that the blood bags have been brought to the lobby and ripped open.", Bones retorted. Spock frowned. "Is there any of my blood left?", he wanted to know. Bones shook his head. "That is why I called you. We'll need to replace some of it as soon as possible." "Very well.", Spock returned.

Spock had already reentered Sickbay before Kirk found his words again. "Bones, have you told security about that?", he asked. "First thing I did, actually." The Doctor crossed his arms. "Giotto almost passed out, but now he is recovered and looking through the security footage." Kirk nodded to show his content.

Spock had stayed in Sickbay; therefore, it was only the Captain that left for the mess hall. After getting his coffee, he decided to check up on Scotty. His engineer was, unsurprisingly, somewhere between his engines. Hence, Kirk was informed that he had to wait a few minutes for him to reemerge. He leaned in some corner, sipping his drink.

Some younger engineer came into the main engine room through one of the doors on the balcony and climbed down the stairs. Kirk did not pay much attention until he heard one of the others speak to him. "Millers, what's the matter with you?", his colleague asked. Now, Kirk saw that the ensign was shaking. "You're not going to believe me.", Millers sobbed. Kirk came over to them. "What has happened?", the Captain asked. "It was really nothing, Sir.", the ensign said timidly. He was probably intimidated by the Captain's presence. Kirk hated it when this kind of thing happened. "I will not judge you, ensign.", he tried to soothe the young man. The one spoken too looked at the ground. "I saw a vampire, Sir.", Millers confessed. His colleague laughed, but Kirk silenced him with a sharp glance.

Kirk assured his underling that seeing things that weren't there was a completely normal phenomenon after several months in space and not to think about it too much. He offered the ensign the rest of his coffee and Millers drank it thankfully.

Just then, Scott came to greet the Captain. "How may I help you, Sir?", he asked. "I just wanted to check how thing are doing down here." "We had some minor power outtakes around the ship, but nothing serious." While talking, the two had moved in the direction of the bot lab. "However, I have quite a few maintenance bots that need some tuning.", the engineer confessed. Kirk smiled. "I don't want to hold you back any longer.", he said. He turned to leave, when Scotty gasped. Kirk came back promptly. "What is it?", he asked but could immediately answer for himself. A green puddle had formed on the box that was used as a table. It had the exact smell that had caused him to flee Sickbay earlier that morning.

Kirk knew very well that Spock was not loved by everyone on the crew, mostly due to his strict handling of his department. He could accept that the bloodbath in Sickbay was some form of revenge, however distasteful. But he couldn't understand why somebody would go the length of smuggling some of the green stuff into Engineering, only to empty it onto Scotty's workbench. He was caught by the terrifying notion that the strange incidents that had happened were somehow connected. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what this connection might be.

While he was walking along some empty corridor, he suddenly thought to have seen something moving in the corner of his eye. When he stopped and turned, nothing was there. He sighed and returned to walking. He had the impression that all the shadows in the hallway were becoming bigger and darker. He ignored this illusion and entered the turbolift. "Bridge.", he commanded. The room started to move upwards. Kirk felt something grab his legs. He twitched and looked down, only to see nothing. Almost without thinking, he turned the lift's handle and forced it to stop. The doors opened. "Rec Deck.", the lift's computer announced. That destination was fine with Kirk. He hurried along the corridor and entered the big hall.

Differently than the day before, the Rec Deck was in its usual state of brightness. Several people were currently using the facility. Kirk let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding. As if nothing was amiss, he strolled over to where Tanzer was sorting through a computer terminal.

"Hello, Sir.", Harb greeted. Kirk nodded in return. "I see Mister Scott has replaced the lights.", Kirk commented. "It was very nice of him.", Tanzer told him, smiling a bit unsure, wondering what the Captain wanted now. "I see everything is in good order. I will now leave for the bridge.", Kirk said, but not moving away from where he stood. Harb looked at him critically. Kirk was not the type to make small talk. "Sir?", he asked, "Are you sure you are alright?" Kirk immediately nodded. "Of course. Everything is fine.", he assured Mister Tanzer. Slightly embarrassed, he left.

Instead of the bridge, Kirk decided to rather go to his quarters. Being space sick, as he obviously was, he could not function as Captain. He knew from experience that he usually went into this state after a long time of being inside a ship, in combination with sleep deprivation. He also knew that his symptoms disappeared after sleeping for a while. So, he was going to do exactly this.

When he entered his quarters after an incident-free walk, he found that Bones had sent a message to his terminal. He read it. It said: "Sent Spock to his quarters after taking his blood. He was kinda dizzy so no duty. Check on him at 1600." Kirk set an alarm for sixteen hundred, so he would not forget. That done, he changed back into his pajamas and slipped under his blanket. Even though he had had a coffee not too long ago, he was asleep within minutes.

He woke a few hours later, feeling a lot better already. After short trip to the bathroom and a glance into the mirror however, he decided that his crew shouldn't see him like this. He grabbed the book he had begun reading yesterday and continued doing so. He had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, his alarm sounded. He was startled only for a few moments before remembering what he had set it for. Reluctantly, he left the warmth of his bed and took the bathroom route to Mister Spock's quarters. He was let inside at once.

Spock was seated on his bed, looking exactly like Kirk felt. He cocked his head at Jim in question. "Bones sent me a message telling me to check on you.", the Captain explained. "Indeed. I am recovering quite well.", the Vulcan informed him. "Please sit.", Spock ordered and indicated a spot on the bed next to him. Kirk sat down, leg dangling over the edge. "Why are you not in uniform, Captain?", Spock asked. "Space happy.", Kirk explained eloquently. "And you have decided to sleep it off, a promising and tried strategy in your case.", Spock deducted. Kirk nodded.

"And what's about you?", he wanted to know. "The first bag was leaking. I did not realize this as I was in a light meditative trance. Nurse Chapel saw it as she passed me." Kirk frowned. "So, you got a new bag to fill.", Kirk concluded. "Indeed. On my insistence. However, I seem to have miscalculated the effect on my physiology. I have spent the last seven point one hours in a healing trance to compensate for the loss of blood." Kirk snickered. "Stubborn Vulcan.", he teased. Spock did nothing to defend himself.

They ended up spending the rest of the day playing chess in Spock's quarters. For dinner, Kirk changed back into his uniform and got Spock and himself food in the mess hall. He was sure he could see Spock's gratitude for being able to stay in the warmth of his rooms as he accepted his meal. None thought of checking in with Lieutenant Giotto.


	5. Two Days Before

Hungrily, Kirk bit into one of the bricks Starfleet called emergency rations. This one was definitely stale, but he didn't care. Silently, he offered Spock another one, but the Vulcan declined with a shake of his head. As the cold had grown, he had buried himself so deeply into the blanket that by now, Kirk could only see his eyes and the tips of his ears peeking out.

_Two days earlier_

The next morning, Kirk found that he felt bad for staying in his quarters all day before. Resolutely, he made his way to the bridge. To his surprise, he found that Uhura was the only crew member currently manning (womanning?) the bridge. "Where is the helmsman?", Kirk asked. "I have tried to hail Lieutenant Fisher, but I couldn't reach him.", Uhura explained. "Try getting through to Sickbay then.", he ordered. "Yes, Sir.", Uhura agreed.

Kirk placed himself behind the helm. He had to agree to himself that maybe he wasn't the most qualified person to do so, but the only one that was there. He had some experience flying shuttles, but he had never sat behind the Enterprise's helm. Uhura looked at him, somewhat amused, but said nothing. Instead, she could finally patch herself through to Sickbay. Kirk waited, only hearing half of the conversation as Uhura was using her earpiece. A minute later, she ended the call.

She turned away from her station and towards the helm. "It seems that poor Fisher had some kind of panic attack. He is currently sedated.", she informed her Captain. Kirk frowned in sympathy. "Who is next on the duty roaster?", he asked. Uhura scrolled through some PADD. "Lieutenant Sulu, Sir.", she told him after a few moments. "Call him, then.", Kirk decided. Uhura did so.

When the turbolift doors opened, at first, they thought to be seeing a potted plant with legs. Moments later, Kirk realized that it was only Sulu with his telepathic plant. "Sulu, what are you doing?", he admonished the Lieutenant. Sulu put down Wendy right next to the helm, looking a little guilty. "Captain, I know this is against protocol, but I ask you to look over that, just for today." Sulu looked at him so desperate and sincere that Kirk could do nothing but nod. While moving out of the helmsman's chair, he asked: "Is there a reason for this?" Sulu pointed to a brown leaf. "The hydroponic garden isn't doing her any good. I was just thinking about where to bring her when Miss Uhura called me."

They spent the rest of the morning in silence, at least if one ignored Sulu's occasional whispering to his plant. When Kirk paid attention to it, he found that it almost sounded like Sulu was talking to a dog. He could swear that he even heard him say something along the lines of 'Who's a good girl?'.

Around midday, Kirk decided that he should go and see what Bones was up to. He left the bridge in Sulu's hands. He stopped along the way to get himself a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to drink it all before an engineer, not looking where he was going, ran straight into him. He felt the warm liquid tickle down his chest. He inspected his now empty cup. The engineer looked at him, wide-eyed. "I am so sorry, Sir.", the engineer managed. Kirk smiled. "Don't you worry. Just pay attention where you are going to next time.", he told the crewman. "Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir.", the engineer said and took off again.

Instead of Sickbay, Kirk went to his quarters to change. Just when he had slipped out of his stained gold shirt, he heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Come.", he said, knowing that it must be Spock. "Why are you not in the astronomy lab?", the Captain asked. Spock was obviously surprised to find him bare-chested, if his eyebrows were any indication. "The sensory array is not in working order. Mister Scott assumes that some relay has burned through, but he has not yet located the problem. I decided that I should use my resources in a more useful way than watching our Chief Engineer doing his work." "What did you do?", Kirk asked curiously, seeing that the Vulcan was carrying a PADD.

"At our meeting two days ago, we have spoken about the high security box that Mister Scott found opened, much to his dismay." Kirk nodded, urging him to go on. "You have mentioned the box's former whereabouts. You told us that it was last used on the Starfleet vessel U.S.S. Fai-tukh." "That's a Vulcans-only ship, I think.", Kirk tried to follow his First Officer. "It is. However, I believed that I had heard the ship's name before. I was not mistaken." Kirk reached for the PADD Spock offered. The display was filled with wiggly lines. Kirk looked at his friend, humor glinting in his eyes. "You are aware that I don't know any Vulcan?", the Captain asked.

The Commander blinked twice. "Excuse me, Captain. I am of course aware." Spock took the PADD back. "This is an article from a Vulcan news outlet. It speaks about the U.S.S. Fai-tukh. It appears that the exploration vessel has been found drifting in space, its crew gone clinically insane." Kirk looked at him, in shock. "What was the reason for this?", he urged to be told. "Unknown.", Spock stated. "The ship's load, machines and tools have been dispersed among other vessels, the ship itself has been decommissioned."

"Is that what is happening to us? Are we going insane?", Kirk asked while pacing his rooms. "Possibly.", the Vulcan answered. "Doesn't the article at least say anything about a possible reason?", he questioned. Spock scanned his PADD. "It is mentioned that several crewmembers have reported seeing a 'black cloud'. This is, of course, not very informative." Kirk snorted. "Damn right you are."

Kirk started to think, trying to see the larger picture. "Do you remember that one time the ship's computer played pranks on us?", he asked Spock. "I do. This situation is different. For most of the strange incidents, physical strength was required." Kirk nodded. "So, no computer failure. Maybe an infection? Like that time we almost crashed into Psi 2000?", Kirk proposed. Spock shook his head. "Nobody on the crew has left the ship within the last month. There has also been no transference of goods of any kind." "Hmm. Spores?" "Again, the same conditions." "Mind-altering demi-gods?" "Now you are being overly creative, Captain." Kirk kept circling the room, still shirtless. "Something like the salt vampire!", he suddenly exclaimed. Spock seemed to think about that for a moment. "This would fit well with the sightings of supernatural beings and the need for physical strength. However, this potential creature does not seem to gain anything from its actions. And it must be able to make itself invisible."

"Whatever it is, it must have a conscience." "Indeed.", Spock agreed. "Have you asked Lieutenant Giotto for his findings?", he added. "Now that you mention it, I haven't. I guess I will do so right this instance." Kirk rushed to the door. "Captain.", Spock called after him. Kirk stopped in his tracks. "What is it?", he wondered. "I believe you should get fully dressed first."

Wearing a new shirt, Kirk entered the Security Deck. Some Ensign told him that Giotto would be in his office. Kirk walked down the corridor, passing the brig and finally arrived at the small room Starfleet called an office. He pressed the buzzer and was let in shortly after. Giotto looked at him in surprise. "Captain?", he asked. Kirk took a seat. "I have tried to reach you all day yesterday.", Giotto explained. "I take it you have found something?" Giotto nodded, looking severe.

"As I had suspected, finding the guilty for the black-out on the Rec Deck was unsuccessful. The cameras didn't catch anything and nobody has seen something. The mess in Sickbay however…", Giotto paused, "Just see for yourself." He turned the computer display in a way so Kirk could see. Giotto put a data card into the receptacle and played a video.

On the video, Kirk could see the bags with his Commander's blood, floating through the air. The recording displayed the bags entering the lobby and seemingly ripping themselves open. "I can't make much sense of this.", Giotto confessed. "There are no cloaking devices so small that a person could use them." "No known humanoid species, then.", theCaptain decided. Giotto agreed. Kirk stood and went to the intercom unit on the wall. "Bridge.", he hailed. "Sulu here.", the speaker produced. "Mister Sulu, go to yellow alert. We have an intruder on board.", Kirk ordered a bit calmer than he felt. "Aye, S…", Sulu acknowledged when the connection broke and the lights flickered out.

Giotto jumped up. "What in the name of?", he swore. Both stumbled to the door, but the door opening mechanism was non-operational as well. "Maybe we can manually open the door. We will just need to activate the override.", Giotto suggested. "Yes. Where is this override?", Kirk asked. Due to the darkness, he could not see the other's face fall. "On the other side of the door.", Giotto deadpanned. "Who puts the override to a secure door on the outside of the room?", Kirk wondered angrily.

They banged on the door, hoping that somebody might hear them. May it be that nobody was in hearing range, may it be that the door was too thick, in any case, nobody came to help them out. Kirk tried the intercom again, to no avail. They sat down again in the chairs after stumbling through the absolute darkness around them. "We will eventually be missed.", the Captain assured Giotto. He could hear that the other was nervously swinging in his chair. Suddenly, he stopped. "I think I have a communicator somewhere around here.", Giotto remembered happily.

While they were fumbling through Giotto's many drawers, Kirk thought he had heard something. He froze for a moment. "Listen!", he ordered his Chief of Security. There was indeed something. "It sounds like children's laughter.", Giotto remarked. "I don't like this at all.", he added. They started to search more hastily. The laughter came nearer and nearer. Suddenly, it was right next to them. Out of reflex, Kirk jumped up. His shirt got tangled up somewhere and ripped. "I have it!", Giotto shouted. He opened the communicator now in his hand and it lit up. The laughter faded immediately. "Giotto to bridge.", the Chief of Security called. A few seconds passed. "Uhura here.", the device's speaker produced. "Sent somebody down to Giotto's office, Lieutenant. We have a power loss down here and can't open the door.", the Captain spoke into the device. He was quite sure that he could hear Uhura struggle not to laugh. "Yes, Sir. Somebody will be there shortly. Uhura out." It was silent again, but neither man wanted to speak about what had just happened.

Uhura had stayed true to her word and they were rescued just a few minutes later by an engineering Ensign. After they had stepped out the office, still blinking, Kirk realized that Commander Spock was standing there as well. "Captain.", he greeted, his glance shifting to the tear in his shirt. "Are you well?", he asked next. Kirk nodded dismissively. "What brings you here?", he wanted to know. "Doctor McCoy wishes to speak to us. You were not reachable; therefore, I went looking for you at your last known position. I met Ensign Jefferson at the Security Deck's doors."

In Sickbay, hell had broken loose. All beds were in use, and the Enterprise's medical personnel were scurrying about. Bones was with them almost immediately. "You see all these people?", he asked, obviously rhetorical. "They are all here because they hurt themselves when something scared them." "All of them?", Kirk asked, dumbfounded. "Do you think I'm lying?", Bones grunted. "Of course not, Doctor.", Spock interjected. "Listen.", Kirk whispered to his CMO. "We already have an intruder alert. There isn't anything more we can do at this point. We will need a description for a search to be initiated." McCoy didn't seem very happy. "Until you make up your mind, I'm going to keep giving out band aids. Just hope nothing worse comes in."

When they left Sickbay, Kirk fumbled with the tear near his collar. "I can't believe it. Two shirts in one day.", he grumbled.


	6. The Day Before

Their rescue pod was hailed by the shuttle _Galileo_. Kirk took the call. "Rescue pod fourteen here. What is it?", he asked. "For god's sake, Jim. For a while we thought you were dead.", McCoy grumbled through the speaker. "Is the hobgoblin with you?", he continued. "I am present.", Spock spoke up from behind his blanket.

_Yesterday_

Per McCoy's apprehension, it had gotten worse. A crate had fallen on a Crewman who had been on the Storage Deck, taking inventory. Luckily, he could be saved, but Bones was fuming with anger. "Goddamnit Jim. What are you waiting for? Does somebody need to die before you can order a search for whatever is causing this?", he hurled at the Captain who had just entered his office. "Tell me what they should search for.", Kirk retorted, slightly agitated himself. "I don't know, have the Vulcan think of something." Kirk breathed, calming himself. "I keep wondering if maybe all this is just imagination and technical failures. People hear other people speak about the ghost they've seen, and suddenly they see it too.", he explained.

McCoy sat down behind his desk. "Look, it's simple. If you have the security team search and they find nothing, you're an idiot. But if you don't let them search and there is indeed something, and I know I'm right, you're not only an idiot, but also probably dead." McCoy looked him straight into the eyes. The Captain sighed. "I guess you're right.", he conceded. "We will have a meeting in half an hour to discuss the situation.", Kirk decided. Bones nodded contently.

To his dismay, Kirk found that it was already early afternoon. He had spent most of the morning on the bridge and in the astronomy lab. The sensory array had been repaired during the night and Kirk needed to decide, together with his Science Officer, which parts of space to leave out of the mapping process, as they were behind schedule and their next mission was already assigned. After that, he had a video call with Admiral Nogura, in which he had to explain why no maps had been transferred the day before. Then, he had let Chekov come to the bridge for a course correction according to the specifications he and Spock had decided. A bit later, McCoy had wanted to speak with him.

And now he was standing in the corridor outside Sickbay. He moved to the nearest intercom unit, and pressed the button. "Captain to all senior officers. We will meet in the conference room in approximately thirty minutes. Kirk out.", he spoke into it. That done, he went to the Mess Hall, as he hadn't eaten anything all day.

The bridge officers looked at him, all appearing rather concerned, or, like in Scotty's case, very tired. "Gentlemen, we have an intruder aboard.", Kirk stated, looking around the room. "This creature is potentially harmful and can make itself invisible. Any suggestions on how we could catch it?" Everyone seemed to think for a moment. Spock spoke first. "If it is indeed a lifeform, it will radiate energy of some form. This signal could be tracked by our tricorders.", he suggested. Kirk nodded. "But how do we know what kind of signal that thing sends out?", Chekov asked from his place next to Wendy. Now it was Scotty's turn to say something. "We can just eliminate all known frequencies and see what is left.", he proposed. "It will take some time.", Spock considered. "Well, then.", Kirk interjected. "You better start immediately."

And so, they did. Spock and Scotty went to reconfigure a tricorder so it would detect the unknown lifeform. First, they eliminated all the frequencies Scotty's machines and tools sent out, after that, all humanoid life signs. Spock took the tricorder to the hydroponic garden and to the biolab, to filter out the rest of the life signs as well. That finished, he brought the device to the bridge, where Kirk was waiting for him.

"We have a frequency.", Spock reported and gave the tricorder to the Captain who was sitting in his chair. "Very good.", Kirk praised. He looked at the displayed frequency. "That is nothing we have encountered yet, have we?", he asked his First. The Vulcan shook his head. "I cannot even tell you what this life form is based on.", he admitted. Kirk looked at the Commander and smiled. "Fascinating, wouldn't you say?", he asked. "Yes. But also, very concerning." Kirk knew Spock was right. He hit the intercom button on his armrest. "Kirk to Giotto.", he announced. "Giotto here.", he was answered. "Mister Spock has determined the energy frequency the intruder emanates. Have your people search for it.", Kirk ordered. "Spock will send you the frequency.", he added further while looking at his Commander at the Science station. Spock nodded and pressed some buttons on both the station and the tricorder. A few seconds later, Giotto spoke again. "Data received. We will begin with the search immediately.", he acknowledged. "Make it so. Kirk out."

While the Security team was doing their work, Spock stayed at his station and did some research on the energy frequency he had found. Kirk stayed in his seat and watched his efforts. The longer Spock searched, the more his face displayed the slightest of frowns. "Something wrong, Mister Spock?", Kirk asked. "Not inherently wrong, merely curious.", the Commander replied. "What is it?", Kirk wanted to know. "There is no entry on our computer referring to the frequency." "That's strange.", Kirk remarked. "Any idea why?", he added. "The frequency is somewhat similar to the one that warp engines sent out. It is possible that it has been recorded before but mistaken for the engine's."

They spent the rest of the day waiting for the search's result. During the afternoon, Spock returned to the Astronomy lab to check on his underlings. Giotto reported once in a while. Every time they thought they had caught on to the signal, it suddenly appeared a few decks under or over them. Once in a while, it disappeared completely for a few minutes. When it was almost twenty-two hundred, Kirk decided to beat it for the day. The Security had already been replaced by the next shift, but there was nobody to relief the Captain. He took the turbolift to the Science Deck, as he wanted to make sure that Spock would sleep as well.

"I do not require as much sleep as humans do.", his First complained. "Half-human.", Kirk reminded him. "Also, I know that you ended up helping Scotty last night." The Vulcan seemed a bit surprised by the last sentence. Kirk sighed. "Go to bed, Commander. This is an order." "Very well.", Spock conceded.

Kirk didn't know why, but somehow, he had snapped awake. Had he had a nightmare? He couldn't remember. A short glance to the clock confirmed that it was only four-hundred, therefore not yet time to get up. Kirk decided to get something to drink. As he drank a glass of water that he had just filled in the bathroom sink, he thought he heard something through the bathroom door to Spock's side. A small sound, repeated over and over and over. Was Spock alright? Maybe he was having a nightmare. Did Vulcan's have nightmares? He decided to knock on the door. "Spock, you alright?", he asked. No answer. The sounds continued. Worried, Jim entered his friend's quarters. At first, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Spock was in his bed and under his blanket, slightly moving as he made the sounds that Kirk had heard through the door. He indeed seemed to have rather violent nightmare. But this was not what had Kirk freeze in place. Over his First Officer, there was something he could only describe as an oily cloud. It seemed to continually turn itself inside out. Sometimes bubbles formed and burst, making the thing look like an oversized black soap bar someone was treating rather roughly. It floated through the air like it weighed nothing.

Breaking from his trance, Kirk rushed over to Spock and shook him, trying to wake him. The cloud came nearer and Jim could feel its cold. "Spock, come on. Wake up.", he urged his friend. Panic rose in him. Finally, Spock opened his eyes, looking at him in perplexity. "Jim?", he asked, his voice cracking. "Do you see that thing?", Jim asked and pointed at the cloud. Spock's eyes widened a bit and he immediately entangled himself from the blanket. He grabbed his Captain by the shoulder and pulled him into the bathroom. Kirk didn't struggle. "What was that?", Kirk asked. "The creature, I presume.", Spock stated, still breathing rather heavily. "It's the black cloud you told me from!", Kirk realized. For a moment, they were just standing there, not knowing what to do.

Spock glanced at the door to his quarters. A piece of the cloud was already pushed through it. "It can move through walls.", he remarked. They moved further in the bathroom, away from the door, until they were standing in the sonic shower. The cloud was now completely inside the bathroom and floating menacingly to their position. Suddenly, Spock was fiddling over his head with the sonic shower's particle extruder. "What are you doing?", Kirk asked sharply. "I have found that the extruder is somewhat loose.", Spock gave as a way of explanation. "Spock, this is no time for repairs.", Kirk scolded. "I am aware.", Spock commented, now holding the cup-shaped object in his hands. They could see the black cloud reflecting in the metal's smooth surface.

By now, the cloud had come incredibly close. Spock swung his arm in a fast movement, holding the extruder in a way that the opening looked in the ground's direction. The cloud turned dark red and lost somewhat in size. Suddenly, it disappeared through the ceiling. "I have a piece.", Spock calmly stated when they were alone. He showed Kirk the little piece of cloud that was inside his makeshift cup. It didn't move anymore.

They were currently walking as fast as possible without actually running. The biology lab was dead ahead. "How did you know that this would work?", Kirk asked his First, slightly breathless. "I had no certainty on that matter. I have however noticed that the occurrences started with the forceful opening of the high security box in Engineering." "I don't understand.", Kirk stated. "The inlay of these type of boxes is made out of titanium, as are some parts of our sonic showers." Now Kirk understood. "You think that that thing can't go through titanium!", he exclaimed. "It obviously cannot.", Spock agreed. Now they had reached the lab. First thing, Spock moved the piece from the extruder to a container from titanium.

Kirk was assisting his Science Officer when McCoy entered. "What's going on?", he asked, grouchy as always and also quite tired. He didn't even realize that his superiors were both wearing sleeping attire. "The analysis of the intruder's biology will soon be finished.", Spock told him. "Did you finally catch that darn thing?", Bones asked. "Only a part of it.", Kirk confessed. "Huh?", Bones sounded and came a bit nearer so he could see. Just then, the computer sounded that it had finished the analysis. Spock took the data card out of its receptable and put it into a nearby PADD. As he began to read, his eyebrows moved upwards.

"What is it?", Kirk wanted to know, slightly excited. "The lifeform is carbon-based." "Carbon-based?", McCoy asked, incredulous. "I have never seen or heard from a carbon-based lifeform that could defy gravity.", Kirk remarked. "It is a most unusual creature.", Spock replied. "Every cell on, what I can only describe as, 'its skin' has an organelle that is able to receive energy transmissions." "What would it do with them?", Bones asked. Spock looked at him directly. "These types of organelles are typically found among telepaths. These are, however, slightly different. I speculate that the lifeform may consumes the energy waves emitted from brains."

"Why would it scare us, then, when it could just suck up our brainwaves?", Bones wanted to know. "Doctor, as you are certainly aware, strong emotions produce a higher volume of energy emission. It would only be logical for a creature such as this one to develop a strategy to incite such emotions in its victim." "And strong negative emotions are probably easier to provoke than strong positive ones.", Kirk added. Spock nodded. "Now that we know all that, how do we get rid of it?", Kirk asked and looked at his two friends in contemplation.

**Author's note: Woah, you made here! The secret has finally been lifted. Make yourself ready for the finale…**


	7. The Day Of

To maneuver the rescue pod back to the ship was rather difficult business, but Spock managed despite the cold. Through the pod's small window, Kirk could see a dozen other pods do the same. Soon, all would be over.

_Earlier that day_

The three men had spent some time coming up with ideas on how to kill or repel the black cloud, but had not yet found one that they thought would work. "If it can't penetrate titanium, why can it go through the decks so easily?", Kirk asked slightly off topic. Spock looked at him. "Simple. Only the ship's mainframe is made out of said material, the gaps are filled with an assortment of different materials, mostly carbon-based synthetics." Kirk nodded absentmindedly. "You said the thing was made out of carbon, didn't you?", he suddenly asked. Now, Spock lifted an eyebrow and McCoy looked at him quizzically. "I did.", Spock confirmed. "What are you thinking of?", Bones wanted to know. "Does it breathe?", Kirk asked his Science Officer. "It appears to absorb oxygen from its environments. I presume this is what you wish to know?" Kirk smiled. "That is exactly what I wanted to know." He proceeded to explain his idea to his friends.

The Captain's plan was the following: First, the crew would evacuate the ship, making sure that the cloud wouldn't come aboard on one the rescue pods. When the crew was gone, Kirk would manipulate the Environmental Controls in such a way that they would fill the ship with carbon-dioxide. He would implement a timer, so the ship would eventually be habitable again. After that, he would run to one of the rescue pods and leave as well.

"And where do you suppose to get enough carbon-dioxide to fill the entire ship?", Bones asked. Now, that was a good point. Spock chimed in. "We could deactivate parts of the air recycler system, namely the ones responsible for changing carbon-dioxide back to pure oxygen. The emergency protocol will activate and the carbon-dioxide will be collected and could be released by a few unorthodox lines of code. Additionally, the Science department is in possession of several liters of the gas in question. These could be released into the air circulation."

"It will take some time until a meaningful amount of carbon-oxide will come together.", Kirk remarked. "Indeed. I estimate about six hours." "Let's start immediately, then."

Doctor McCoy returned to his Sickbay, and the Captain and his Science officer made their way to the Environmental Controls. Luckily, nobody saw them, as they were still in their sleep wear. Kirk watched as Spock pressed a few buttons and switched a few switches. Finally, he nodded to his Captain. "It is done."

Just as Kirk, back in his quarters, was pulling his yellow shirt over his head, the intercom system chimed. He finished dressing and pressed the button. "Kirk here.", he said. "Captain!", Scotty returned. "The environmental system has just jumped into emergency mode. Somebody must have fiddled with the controls." Kirk realized that he should have spoken to his engineer beforehand. "It's alright, Scotty. Spock was the one changing the settings.", Kirk tried to calm him. "What?", the Scotsman shouted after a few seconds. "Don't change anything, that's an order. There will be a meeting in ten minutes, where I will explain what's going on. Kirk out." After he had ended his call with Scotty, Kirk immediately sent a message to all his bridge crew save Bones, who had already enough on his hands to deal with.

Just ten minutes later, his crew had come together in Conference room one. "What is going on?", Chekov asked immediately upon entering. He was the last of the group that had been missing, so Kirk started to explain. "Mister Spock and I had an encounter with our little trickster earlier today. We were able to acquire a piece of its body and now know how to kill it.", he explained. "Mister Spock, will you please repeat our plan of action?"

After Spock had finished, everyone nodded in understanding. "With all the fail saves on the enviro system, it will not produce enough carbon-dioxide to fill the ship with more than three to four percent.", Scotty remarked. "Captain, I believe we will need at least seven percent to ensure the creature's death.", Spock told Kirk. Scotty pressed a few buttons on his PADD. "This means we will need to produce about fifty-thousand cubic meters of the stuff." Kirk looked around his crew. "Ideas?", he asked. Scotty spoke up again. "Well, I have a bunch of plastic junk that I wanted to get rid of for a while now. Why not burn it?"

So, they did. The Captain watched as Scotty's people carried crate after crate to the air recycler. The engineer turned the fire alarm and the automated extinguishing system, before lifting a flare gun and getting to work. Soon after, the flames were blazing, the melting plastic stank terribly. The air was perpetually sucked into the air changer, fixing the carbon-dioxide and therefore keeping it inside. Both Captain and Chief engineer stood there watching. "Aye. I think this will do the trick." Soon after, Sulu entered, carrying a crate filled to the brim with plant cuttings. "Throw it on the stack, lad.", Scotty told him, seemingly enjoying himself. Kirk chuckled and walked over to where Spock was surveilling the air changer's controls. "Mister Scott's plan seems to work.", the Vulcan remarked. "I do however believe that there is no need to burn as much deposed material as he currently is." Despite himself, Kirk laughed full-heartedly.

Kirk had gone to the bridge to make a crew-wide announcement and to record his log. M'Ress was at Communications and Lieutenant Hendricks was manning the helm. Kirk let himself fall into his seat. "Lieutenant, please put me on all speakers.", he ordered the Caitian. She pushed a few buttons and nodded to him. "Attention all hands. We will evacuate the ship at nine-hundred today. I repeat: Ship-wide evacuation today at nine-hundred hours. Kirk out.", he spoke into the microphone. As the departments checked in to say that they had received and understood the order, Kirk begun recording his log.

With nothing to do but wait for the deadly gas to accumulate, Kirk left his post in search of a coffee. When he exited the turbolift, he thought that he had seen something run around a corner. Probably just a crewman in a hurry. He only managed to walk a few steps until he heard it. "Jimmy!", someone called out behind him. Recognizing the voice, Kirk turned before he could stop himself. And indeed, his dead brother Sam was standing there, being twelve years old again. Kirk looked down to him, realizing that he had never looked down on his older and taller brother before. This wasn't his brother, he reminded himself. It was that cloud.

"Why do you want to kill me, Jimmy?", Sam asked. It was absolutely heart-breaking. "You are not Sam. Stop pretending to be him.", Kirk growled at the creature, absolutely furious. "Why did you not help me, back on Denava?", the make-believe Sam asked. "You know I couldn't. The request for help was issued too late." Sam came nearer while Kirk was frozen in place. "Do you remember how I hid you when Kodos was after you?" Kirk nodded. "And how I beat up those older boys when they made fun of you?" Kirk remembered. "How I came with you to your entrance exam for Starfleet, so you wouldn't be so nervous?" Sam kept getting nearer. "Don't you like me, Jimmy?", he finally asked, his pitch-black eyes big as saucers. His eyes! Kirk broke out of his reverie. "Keep away!", he shouted at the creature. "Never!", the other screeched back, opening his mouth much wider than possible for real humans, showing three rows of nail-like teeth. Following an ancient instinct, Kirk ran as fast as he could.

"Jimmy, stop.", Sam urged while running after him. Jimmy wouldn't stop but kept running towards the mess hall. The doors opened, Kirk lost his balance, the doors closed again. "Captain, are you alright?", somebody asked. Kirk picked himself up from the floor. "Merely a bit ruffled.", he said and walked over to the coffee machine.

Sipping his hot bean drink, Kirk stared out the mess hall's windows. The creature had hit a wound spot of his. He had to agree to himself that he missed his brother. He sighed and decided to visit his orphaned nephew Peter at the next possibility. Poor kid.

The intercom system across the room chimed. "Scott to the Captain.", the speaker produced. Kirk drank the last of his coffee and walked over. "Yes?", he asked. "That wee beastie has turned the safety system back on. Everything is covered in foam." "Have you collected enough gas?", the Captain asked. "I guess.", the engineer returned. "We have indeed acquired a sufficient amount of carbon-dioxide.", Spock chimed in. "Very well. Keep going according to plan. Kirk out."

Nine-hundred rolled around and the crew begun evacuating the ship. Kirk was overseeing the process when Bones came up to him. He held an orange biohazard suit. "Wear this.", he said and pushed the suit into his arms. "Bones…", Kirk set out to protest, but was cut short. "The hobgoblin is wearing one as well. I don't want to find you suffocated." Defeated, Kirk slipped into the suit. "Wait. Did you say Spock wears one as well?", he asked. "I do.", he heard the Vulcan say from behind him. "Spock. This is going to be dangerous. You know that?" "Indeed. That is why I am going to stay and ensure your safety." "Well then.", Kirk waved his hand.

They had decided that Spock would go to the Science lab to release their stock of carbon-dioxide, while Kirk would manipulate the air recycler. With nobody but Spock and him on the ship, it was eerily quiet. Kirk, still scarred from the encounter with Sam, walked a bit faster than he was used to. Suddenly, something behind him exploded. He turned to see parts of the ceiling falling down and circuits burning. He began to jog as his ship began to fall apart behind him. He hoped that nothing essential was being destroyed.

He climbed down some steps on a ladder, which was rather awkward in the suit. He almost lost his grip when he heard the children's laughter, similar to the kind he had heard in Giotto's office. 'It can't hurt me.', he told himself, rather unsure of that fact. Upon entering Environmental Control, the light fell out. Becoming even more nervous, Kirk switched his helmet light on. He pulled a tape Spock had given him out of a pocket and put it into the console's slit. The program on it started its work and Kirk heard gasses being released into the air vents. Task finished, he left the room and hastened to their designated escape pod.

From somewhere behind him, he heard an inhumanly screech. "Why, why?", he heard next, a very hollow voice. More screaming followed. Kirk suddenly felt a little bad for what he was doing. He tried to ignore the sounds.

_Later that day_

It was good to see the ship being populated again. Kirk walked through the corridors, smiling at the crew he encountered. Scotty had told him that the damage caused by the explosions was minimal and could be easily fixed. A few decks lower, he met Spock. In front of his First, there was a giant puddle of a black substance. Spock looked at him as he came nearer. "We were successful.", the Vulcan stated. "I feel a bit bad. It screamed when it died.", the Captain confessed. "Jim.", Spock said to him, using his soft voice. "This was no intelligent being. It merely projected back what it received from you.", he assured him. "Nobody would frown upon a prey fighting back its hunter." Spock gave the puddle a hard glance and left. "I'm sorry.", Kirk said under his breath before turning around and following Spock.

_Welcome to the end of the story. Please check out these awesome fanarts a friend of mine did: https: doubleshlash imgur dot com shlash a/aYAhwED_

_And also, thanks for reading!_


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